Chicken soup vs Chicken stock: Simple question

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kupo15

Assistant Cook
Joined
Jan 21, 2011
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9
Hi,
I just finished making a huge full chicken. I of course have leftovers which will become very useful. I'm planning on making chicken noodle soup from the leftovers and bones and I also want to make chicken stock as well. I searched on how to make chicken stock and it looks basically as if I were to make chicken soup. What is the difference?
 
Well, chicken stock has no solids, chicken soup does. When I make chicken soup, I always use chicken stock as part, if not all, of the liquid.

There are those who will tell you that homemade chicken stock is the only way to go. Then there's me. I can't make chicken stock better than Swanson's brand of canned chicken broth, nothing else will do for me. I use it for my chicken soup, and it always turns out well.

By the way.......welcome to DC, you'll like it here.
 
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Ok I guess I should clarify then. The difference between chicken stock and chicken soup broth
 
We use chicken stock to make chicken soup. Homemade is the best. When we cut up whole chickens or have chicken wings, I'll save the backs and wing tips for stock. I generally roast these off with the vegis before adding to the stock pot. As Anne Burrell likes to say, "brown food equals flavor". Some white wine, water and a bouquet garni and your set. I like to slow simmer for hours. Then strain through a collander or chinois. Don't forget to skim the fat.

Craig
 
We use chicken stock to make chicken soup. Homemade is the best. When we cut up whole chickens or have chicken wings, I'll save the backs and wing tips for stock. I generally roast these off with the vegis before adding to the stock pot. As Anne Burrell likes to say, "brown food equals flavor". Some white wine, water and a bouquet garni and your set. I like to slow simmer for hours. Then strain through a collander or chinois. Don't forget to skim the fat.

Craig

My point exactly, Craig. My homemade is not better than Swanson's, so there's no shame in leaving it to the experts. :LOL:
 
As I understand it broth is seasoned, stock is not.

Kayelle, I make my chicken stock/broth by boiling a chicken thigh in about 8 cups of water for 45 minutes to a maximum of an hour. You can use the thigh meat in the dish you are making or as I often do, just freeze it for later. I do this when I'm getting ready to make beans. Why buy it when I can make it for free?

Sometimes I season the stock, just salt and a bay leaf unless I get "fancy" then any seasoning can go into it. If I'm going to make beans, I may use Cajun seasoning.

I also like to use drumsticks. I buy the 10# bag of chicken legs, separate the thighs from the drumsticks and package the drumsticks in sandwich size baggies. Just the right amount for a nice chicken soup.

The trick here is not boiling bones or carcasses for hours, but just to end up with a flavorful stock/broth, PLUS nicely cooked chicken that is usable.
 
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I finally Googled it and the answer was that stock is made from the bones, and broth with meat. So what I make with the chicken thigh is a broth, and what I make from a turkey carcass is stock. Both are seasoned and have celery, onion, etc.
 
The difference between stock and broth is the use of bones.

Broth is made by simmering meat in water.

Stock us made by simmering bones and meat in water.

The bones give stock a deeper flavor and a thicker texture.

You can use either stock or broth to make soup.
 
Kayelle, if it is available in your area, College Inn makes a stock called Bold that is excellent.
 
I make my own chicken stock all the time, and find it's much better then canned broths and stocks, and also much cheaper. I start by roasting a whole chicken, pull the meat from the bones and use in any recipe that calls for rotisserie chicken. I make anything from enchiladas to chicken salad.

Next I put all the bones and skin in the bottom of my slow cooker. Add a medium onion, large carrot, and two stalks of celery, all roughly chopped. A few sprigs of fresh thyme if I have it, or a good pinch of dry if I don't, a couple of bay leaves, about a tablespoon of salt and a teaspoon of black peppercorns. Top with about 2 and a half quarts of cold water, turn the slow cooker on low and let it go for 8 to 10 hours (I usually do this before bed and let it cook overnight.) In the morning just strain out all the solids through a cheesecloth lined sieve. This recipe yields about 2 quarts of nice clear delicious stock!
 
Kayelle, if it is available in your area, College Inn makes a stock called Bold that is excellent.

Thanks for the tip Pacanis. I'll look for it. ;)
Like I mentioned, I know how to make stock, and have done it. A good one is time intensive and sure involves more than boiling a piece of chicken in water. :ermm: All of us use shortcuts, and one of mine is canned chicken broth.
Watch someone pipe up and claim they make their own flour. :ROFLMAO:
 
Kayelle,

I am all about being willing to take a short cut when needed. I do prefer to make my stock, I think it is better. And it is far less salty (I don't add salt to my stock). The boxed ones can be over the top with salt.

I made some chili once using the Hard Times packet and some boxed stock (or broth, don't remember). It was way too salty because of the salt in the packet and the stock. The next time I went on a hunt for lower salt stock.

When the pressure cooker arrived the first thing Kathleen said to me was "time for you to make stock" :LOL:
 
Thanks for the tip Pacanis. I'll look for it. ;)
Like I mentioned, I know how to make stock, and have done it. A good one is time intensive and sure involves more than boiling a piece of chicken in water. :ermm: All of us use shortcuts, and one of mine is canned chicken broth.
Watch someone pipe up and claim they make their own flour. :ROFLMAO:

I have used both College Inn and Swansons. Both have given me good results. That being said, my absolutely favorite off the shelf stock is Kitchen Basics Stock.

Kayelle, the KA has a grain mill attachment. You know it is only a matter of time. :LOL:
 
We do use Swansons quite often. It takes a while to accumulate enough backs, carcasses and wing tips for homemade. But the homemade stock is so much richer, especially if the "bones" and vegis are roasted.

Regarding College Inn, isn't one of the first ingredients MSG?

Craig
 
It doesn't say so on my bottles, Craig. It does say something like a small amount of glutamate occurs in the yeast extract... something like that. It wouldn't bother me if it had MSG in it anyway, I'm not allergic and have a bottle that I keep in in the cupboard for when I make some Asian dishes.

I've no doubt that with the right recipe homemade stock/broth could be a superior product, but stock is something I just don't make. I draw the line at raising my own eggs. And anytime I get a pot of something that looks like chicken stock, I turn it into soup, lol.
 
I have never made chicken broth from meat only, I always use both. Does it mean that I actually have beenmaking stock?
 
I have never made chicken broth from meat only, I always use both. Does it mean that I actually have beenmaking stock?

Charlie,

If you have extracted flavor from simmering bones in water, you have made stock.

But these days, the terms are nearly interchangeable
 
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